The First Rule of Being a Princess
by Cedfia123
Summary: Sequel to "How to Make a Birthday Perfect". Having admitted their feelings for one another, Sofia and Cedric take things back to his tower. But when they oversleep the next morning, they'll be faced with a decision, and Amber will have to remind Sofia what the first and most important rule of being a princess is. (M rated Cedfia)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This fic is the sequel to my first story "How to Make a Birthday Perfect". It's mostly just an excuse to let Cedric and Sofia get busy, so you probably don't need to read that to pick up this one, but if you're looking for context reading that one will help.**

 **This story will be a two shot. Smut first, then a light sprinkling of plot in the second chapter which I'll probably post tomorrow.**

 **Disclaimer: Sofia is 18, Cedric is 34, and I don't either of them or anyone else mentioned in this story. I'm just perving on them for fun.**

.o~O*O~o.

Cedric was warm.

He couldn't remember ever feeling so warm in his damp, drafty tower; or sleeping so well.

As his mind swam towards awareness he marveled that he felt so rested and refreshed. He'd suffered from insomnia all his life, often unable to sleep for several days at a time. Since childhood he'd needed potions and spells to counteract the worst consequences of whatever glitch kept him from enjoying the respite others seemed to take for granted.

Fuzzy at the edges of his consciousness was the whisper that something momentous had happened to bring him to this current state of fulfillment. But still indulgently half asleep, the memory eluded his attempts to capture it.

Just then a soft breeze ruffled his hair and passed warm and sweet across face.

No.

Not a breeze, a sigh.

Suddenly it all came back: Sofia's birthday, missing the party to brew a rejuvenation potion for her beloved rabbit, combing the castle looking for her, finding her. He remembered her tears, their dance, her simple, heartbreaking declaration of love.

He remembered fighting her too, telling her he wasn't a good enough man for her. Lying here so blissfully, he couldn't understand why he'd done that? They were all right he supposed, he really was a fool. Who, offered the only real thing they'd ever wanted, would push it away.

He was lucky "no" wasn't a concept she understood. Had he ever won an argument with her? Had anyone? He didn't think so. Even at the tender age of eight she'd had him wrapped around her finger. He was incapable of denying her anything she wanted. And for some unimaginable reason she wanted him.

He'd challenged her to teleport them from the ballroom to his tower. She'd been cocky about it, but they both knew it was a difficult spell. Getting it wrong could have dire consequences. She was no second rate carnival magician though. From the moment he'd started teaching her in earnest she'd done nothing but surprise and delight him with the depth of her talent.

If he was honest he knew, deep down, he was an incredibly gifted sorcerer. It was one of things he'd always hated, the knowledge that he wasn't even scraping the surface of what he was capable of. He bungled things (much less so these days) because he got in his own way. He let his nerves and insecurities get the better of him. But even if he were to someday reach his full potential he had the suspicion his gifts where nothing compared to what Sofia would someday achieve.

They'd reached his tower with no complications as he knew they would.

Standing in his darkened workshop he'd gently placed her back on her feet and taken his robe from her, tossing it on his work bench, heedless of the stacks of papers and notes it sent spilling to the floor.

Turning back to her, he'd taken both her hands in his own and bent down slowly to claim another of her transcendent kisses.

The tower was dark, but they were standing in the single pool of moonlight streaming in from the balcony above. It was enough for him to see her face, her eyes, as their mouths met. He'd never looked into a woman's eyes as he kissed her before. With anyone else it probably would have been off putting, unnerving, but with Sofia…it was as if she were inviting him to slip inside her and see all the parts of herself she hid from others.

He could see every emotion the press of his lips on hers evoked. He saw love, devotion, adoration, desire, pleasure, and passion all reflected in the dark pools of her beautiful blue eyes. Could she see those same emotions reflected back at her? He hoped so. He needed her to understand just how deep his feelings for her ran.

Giving him a gift so precious, it left him feeling as though he'd been shattered. That he was nothing more than shards of glass in Sofia's hands. It was her decision now whether to put him back together or let the pieces of him fall to the floor discarded. If she could do this to him with a single kiss, what would lying with her be like? Cedric shuddered, nearly as frightened by the intensity of what was happening between them as he was excited by it.

They broke apart gently and he looked around the room. Except for this one spot, the room was completely shrouded in shadow. Looking down at her again he pulled her close, pressing their still clasped hands to his chest.

"This room," He whispered, the moment seeming to sacred to speak any louder, "It's us. It's what you are to me, a single, beautiful ray of light sweeping away some of the darkness."

Sofia bowed her head overcome by emotion at his words. She brought her lips to each of his hands, and then laid her cheek against them. He knew she was trying to tell him with touch what she felt too affected to put into words. That she would always be there shining her light down on him. That she would fight to her last breath before she let the darkness take him.

It was time.

They both knew it.

Kissing one of her hands he dropped it.

Walking side by side, hand in hand, they made their way through his workshop and down the stairs to his bedchamber. He led her to his writing desk. Sparking one of the matches he kept there, they walked slowly around the room, lighting the small sconces that dotted the walls, and finally the candle by his bedside.

They faced each other again.

Sofia was the first to move. Reaching out she caught the end of his tie and pulled gently until it gave, the silk slipping away. Moving closer, she began working on the buttons of his vest, and then his shirt.

He had resolved to go slow.

He wanted to take his time, to commit every moment of what was about to happen to memory in case the day ever came when she realized he wasn't worth wasting her life on. At least he would always have this moment to look back on. One perfect memory of the beginning; when there was nothing but happiness.

He also wanted to make her feel as safe and cherished as he could.

The nobility kept their daughters in shameful ignorance when it came to the realities of sex . Girls routinely went to their marriage beds with no clue of what awaited them. And what went for Nobility went doubly so for Royalty.

Cedric was sure Sofia had never seen a man naked before. He didn't even know if she grasped the basic mechanics of what was about to happen between them. He owed it to her to let her take the lead for now. To let her touch and explore him, without feeling as though he were rushing her to a conclusion she had only the haziest notion of.

When she looked back on tonight he wanted her to know she'd been loved, worshipped, to the full extent one person could love another. He might not be what she deserved but he would give her the first time she deserved.

The last button on his shirt slipped free and Sofia sucked in long breath as she slid his vest and shirt off in one fluid motion.

She seemed entranced. At first he wasn't exactly sure why, but then her hands came up and began tracing the spells tattooed on his arms. He had four of them, one on each bicep and one on each forearm.

"They're… beautiful. What are they?" She asked still caressing them gently.

"Spells. Which ones a Sorcerer chooses to wear are unique to each person. Each spell represents an aspect of the wearer. Once they heal they become channels, enhancing your power. It's tradition for a master to give his apprentice their first tattoo on the day they earn the title Sorcerer.

A teacher's last gift before he and his student stand before one another as equals. If you wish it, I will give you your first one the night we return from your testing."

"I'd like that," her voice was low, breathy, "I have a feeling there isn't a 'first' I won't enjoy as long as it's with you."

Her eyes locked with his then as her hands wrapped around his arms. She leaned forward brushing her lips against the hollow indentation at the base of his throat. Never breaking eye contact with him, Sofia's tongue began to explore the expanse of his chest and stomach.

Cedric fought the urge to close his eyes and let his head fall back, wanting to keep the link between them even as a groan of pleasure escaped his mouth.

He was by far, the more experienced of the two of them and yet tonight she had shown him how much deeper, how much more honest and raw it could be when you bared not just your body to your lover, but your soul too.

He couldn't suppress the need to touch her any longer, but he wasn't ready to take control away from her either. So he settled for tangling one his hands in the long auburn curls at the base of her neck. The other went to her back, beginning the arduous process of loosening the thousand tiny hooks that held her dress together.

While Sofia's mouth continued its assault on his restraint, her hands where not idol. They snaked around to his back, grasping and massaging in a similarly maddeningly wonderful way.

He smiled then, remembering how she'd reacted to the spells on his arms. If a few lines of script had caused such a heated reaction from her, he wondered what would happen when she eventually saw his back.

The symbols and astrological signs there covered over half of his skin.

That thought died a swift death when her hands suddenly came back around and began working the clasps to his pants. He sucked in a breath and began trying to remember the ingredients for every potion he'd ever brewed… in alphabetical order.

The last clasp on Sofia's dress popped just as his mind suddenly scratched like a broken record. All it seemed capable of was doing was repeating 'dragon's scales' over and over again as she smiled up at him, flushed and victorious in her battle with his trousers. She wasted not a single second hooking her hot little fingers into the fabric and pushing it down.

His legs seemed to move independently of his malfunctioning brain as they obligingly kicked the puddle of clothing, now around his ankles, away along with his shoes.

He was completely naked now.

Under normal circumstances he would have been overcome with self-consciousness at the reality of being naked in front of someone who was completely dressed. But Sofia's eyes wouldn't allow it.

She had taken a step back to look at him, so he could see her pupils had grown to twice their normal size. Her beautiful sky blue irises had already darkened quite a bit, but they became the ocean during a gale now, midnight blue and fathomless. Her chest rose and fell as though she were drowning, fruitlessly trying to get air.

"Cedric you're so beautiful."

The earnest simplicity of her declaration broke him for what felt like the hundredth time tonight.

He closed the distance between them then and brought his hand to her face, cupping her cheek. Tilting her eyes up to meet his, he kissed her deep and long, their tongues dancing around each other.

When they broke apart long minutes later he nuzzled her nose with his own.

"Whatever I am, Dearest, all of it is yours to do with what you please."

"Then you'd better take me to bed Cedric. I want to do everything with you and I can't wait anymore."

Working in tandem they removed her dress and the endless layers of undergarments beneath.

When she stood as naked before him as her had for her, he returned her simple, sincere declaration before picking her up again and laying her on his bed.

In the hours that followed, he did as she had bid him and showed her everything. Touched all of her, kissed all of her, tasted all of her and she'd returned his ardor inch for inch. He'd never had a lover so willing, so determined, to give as much as she took.

There wasn't a part of him that hadn't felt the wet slide of her tongue. Not a part of him that hadn't felt the caress of her soft fingers or the burn of her searing lips.

Cedric knew what it was now to feel the silken sweep of Sofia's hair tickle his legs as her exquisite lips moved up and down on his cock, urging him to empty not just his seed, but his soul into her waiting mouth. He knew now that she not only smelled like lilacs but tasted like blossom nectar. That she would run her hands obsessively through his hair as she neared her peak, needing to touch some part of him as his face moved between her thighs. He knew what it was to grip her hair in his hands, angling her head this way and that to accept his kisses as he thrust into her slow and deep.

The vision of her, hair a wild halo framing her face, her mouth open on a scream that was meant to be his name, as she rode him to a shattering climax so intense it forced his own, was burned into his memory.

He would forever crave the feel of her sweat slick body pressed to his as they gasped for air in the afterglow of passion, her arms wound as tightly around him as his where around her. He didn't think he could ever fall asleep again without her head resting on his shoulder and her auburn hair spilling across his chest.

And as he finally opened his eyes to the brightness of a new day, he knew what it was to wake beside her. To watch her, still partially asleep, instinctively reach for him.

And now he knew, he wondered how he would ever live without it. If she were to leave him, if something where to happen to her, he'd be nothing more than a shell of a man, retreating from the world to live with his memories. A ghost going slowly insane as the aching need for her consumed him.

"Good morning." She said, opening her eyes, bright as the bright blue day outside his window.

"Good morning Dearest." He said back, pulling her to him and taking her mouth with the hunger of a man who'd been starving.

They couldn't have slept for more than a few hours.

He remembered dawn had already been breaking over the horizon as they'd held each other through one last climax. They'd both been fairly exhausted by then, but the way they'd made love that last time had felt somehow… more poignant than all the other times combined. That last time they'd been gentler, softer, sweeter with each other. It had been more about love than desire. More about cementing the bond between them, than working off some of the ridiculous amount of lust they'd managed to store up over all those years of denial.

But now it seemed as though all their efforts had barely scratched the surface. Apparently a few hours was all it took to make him crave her just as much as he had last night, all over again.

She wrapped herself around him and laid her head in the crook of his neck, nuzzling her nose just below his ear.

"We missed breakfast," she said conversationally.

He was about to remind her he never ate breakfast when the implication of her words sunk in.

 _She_ missed breakfast. The morning meal she took with her family _every_ day. And if she'd missed breakfast, that meant she'd also missed being woken by her maid, who had, by now, surely found her room empty and her bed still made. If so the King, the Queen, Baileywick, every servant from the ladies maids to the scullery maids knew Princess Sofia hadn't slept in her bed last night.

He was surprised they hadn't been awoken by an armed contingent of guards hauling them out of bed and dragging him down to the dungeons. Baileywick must be getting sloppy in his dotage.

"I see." He said stroking her hair while he stared up at the ceiling and wondered if they'd already reached the end of their time together.

Everyone knew she'd slept elsewhere last night. She either needed to own him or come up with a plausible lie. He'd never been a confident man, though she'd helped him make leaps and bounds in that regard, but he didn't intend to be anyone's dirty secret, no matter how hopelessly he needed her. Nor would he dishonor her in that way.

"And what do you think we should do about that." He asked, keeping his voice level, trying not to betray his doubts to her.

She left his arms then to prop herself up on one elbow, her hand in her hair, her breasts completely, unselfconsciously exposed to him, _for_ him. Her other hand reached out and started playing with his hair, fingers gently combing the silver strands out of his eyes.

"I know I said last night we could work out the details later, but I think later just caught up with us."

He nodded, silently agreeing with her assessment of the situation.

"I guess I have to ask you a question Cedric." She said biting the corner of her lip and suddenly shifting her gaze to the spot on the pillow next to him.

"What would that be?" He returned, not giving her a read on the turmoil brewing inside him.

"Well, it's too late to sneak back down to my bedroom, even if that's what I wanted. I think I probably _did_ want that… at least for a few days, just have you all to myself for a little while and not have to deal with everyone else. But I suppose now or next week makes very little difference in the grand scheme of things. So I think we should go talk to my parents. It's Sunday, Dad doesn't do any work on Sundays. It's strictly a family day. Which means they'll all go down to the family room in a little bit, to read the papers and have mid-morning tea."

He closed his eyes at her words, the knot of pain that had been forming in his stomach releasing.

"You mean to own me then?" He blurted, cursing himself internally for revealing his insecurity when the hurdle had already been crossed.

"Of course I do," she replied somewhat incredulously, her hand leaving his hair to cup his cheek.

Leaning in she pressed her pressed herself against him as she lowered her face, taking him in an open mouth kiss that was unmistakably possessive.

"The question isn't whether I want everyone to know I love you, Cedric. The question is how much _you_ want to own _me_. If we go to my parents, especially knowing I never made it to my room last night, they aren't just going to give their blessing to us changing the current sleeping arrangements. They're going to insist you marry me."

Cedric leveled her with an arched eyebrow and a sarcastic sneer.

"I see age has not tempered your boundless optimism, Dearest. What makes you so sure your father won't just lop off my head? As you say it's no longer a matter of accepting our feelings for one another, it's a matter of my having…defiled you."

"Pretty thoroughly too." She added, a wicked smirk lighting her features.

He laughed at that, he couldn't help it. Sofia might be sweet as pie but she had as cutting a sense of humor as he did. She might have even gotten it from him.

"My parents are not going to kill you Cedric, or maim you, or throw you in the dungeon. Remember what you said last night about my father letting me find love in my own time? I think he understands people in love don't just stare at each other chastely from across rooms.

I… I am sorry to have basically forced you into marriage though. It was never my intention to corner you into something like this." Sofia looked away from him then, the sadness in her eyes achingly apparent. And as always it spurred him to reveal more than he intended.

Rising from the bed, he went to the writing desk that held almost all of his worldly possessions. Opening the smallest drawer in the upper corner, he pulled out a little box and brought it back to the bed.

He kneeled back down on it as Sofia rose to a sitting position.

He handed her the box and sat back on his heels not caring that he was naked. Hoping he wasn't about to be burned despite the odds seeming to be in his favor. That was basically the story of his life, but when Sofia was around she always seemed able to change his luck.

Sofia opened the box and gasped, looking up at him.

"What is this?" She asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

"It's yours. I...I bought it for you.

I found it years ago in a jewel shop in Friesenburg. You remember the time your Father insisted the entire court pay an official visit. I had no idea at the time what possessed me to part with a small fortune to acquire a ring I had no use for. But it caught my eye and I found I couldn't pass it by. All I could think was how exquisite it would look on your finger.

You were fifteen at the time, and once I'd paid for it and walked out of the shop I realized I must have been temporarily relieved of my senses. I could never give it to you. For a grown man to give such a gift to a half-grown girl, for a servant to give something like that to his Princess, it broke all the bounds of propriety and decency in one fell swoop.

So I kept it. And as you grew and my feelings grew with you, as friendship turned purer and became love, and love deepened into something less chaste and more…earthy, I would sometimes take it out and sit there," he gestured to large armchair by the fire, "and imagine you wearing it.

When I used to dream of you wearing it, it was never just a gift. I imagined you wearing _my_ ring, with all the expectations inherent in that.

So, you see, you aren't cornering me into anything. I've wanted to marry you for years."

She took the ring out of the box then and slipped it on the fourth finger of her left hand. The large amethyst at the center winked in the morning sun, while the smaller rubies and diamonds that surrounded it sent rainbow colored shards of light dancing around the room.

Cedric couldn't help but notice the ring was a perfect fit.

Or that she'd managed to outdo his most outlandish daydreams without even trying. Never once had he dared to imagine she would slip it on her finger while naked and glowing in his bed.

Seeing her in his ring and nothing but his ring made him suddenly rock hard.

Sofia seemed to notice his state at the same time he did and before he could grab the sheet to cover himself, she had moved from her position to straddle his thighs. She kissed him long and hard as she lowered herself onto his straining erection.

When he was fully sheathed, she broke their kiss and took his face in both her hands.

"Just so there's no misunderstanding happening here…yes. I will marry you."

"I'm glad we cleared that up." He quipped, taking her hips in his hands and helping her set an energetic pace.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well here's the 'plot' part of the story. I know there are a lot of stories about the angst involved in Cedric, a servant, marrying Sofia, a princess (and boy do I love those) but when I was writing this I thought I would go a different way.**

 **I really do think Rolland and Miranda, and James and even Amber are good people . Though maybe Amber needs a push in the right direction ever once and a while. I also thought given Rolland married a shoe-maker, he'd be hard pressed to be sooo hypocritical he'd deny his kids the same right to marry for love. So that's why I had things go down this way.**

 **Disclaimer: Sofia is 18, Cedric is 34 and I don't own either of them, or anyone else mentioned. I just love it when Amber gets sassy!**

.o~O &O~o.

A little over an hour later, Cedric was fully dressed (minus his is Sorcerer's robes) and Sofia was in her shift and corset, her petticoats and ball gown laid out on the bed.

She had the tip of her thumb between her teeth and a look of consternation on her face.

"What has you frustrated Dearest? I know I'm probably not half the Ladies Maid Violet is, but I'm fairly certain between the two of us we can get you back into all that." Cedric's voice sounded confident, but somehow the huge pile of lace and linen was more intimidating than he cared to admit.

"I have no doubt, but I think maybe we should pop down to my room before seeing my parents. I'm not sure I'm ready to do 'the walk of shame' quite yet."

Cedric laughed at that. Even if he got her back into that ridiculous pile of fluff, his hair only required a small comb to tame. It would probably break in two before she'd run it through half of her long, tangled curls. Even dressed she'd look wild and thoroughly fucked.

It was probably best to take her to her room and let her make herself 'Princess Perfect' before they tackled the task ahead.

"You're right. Shall we then?" He said holding out his hand to her.

She nodded, but instead of coming to him she grabbed her dress and petticoats and walked into his closet. He watched her pull down a few spare hangers and slip her dress on one of them. For the petticoats she used a trouser hanger, clipping them in place and sliding his clothes down so hers could rest next them.

He didn't know why, but such a simple action had him choking back a sob. Such a banal, every day thing to do, and yet it finally drove home the truth as nothing else had. She was a part of his life now. She was here to stay! His room was her room too. His closet was her closet.

He was hers.

She came bounding back then and took his hand.

Grabbing the wand lying carelessly on the desk he cast the spell and a moment later they were in Sofia's room.

Her blessedly empty room.

Part of him was relieved they were still alone but another part was starting to get slightly angry. Was no one looking for her? Did no one care that, for all intents and purposes, she had been missing since late last night? Did everyone have their heads in their asses this morning?

Ten minutes later Cedric was surprised to find her already dressed in an elegant eggplant colored gown, her hair half pulled back with a little ivory comb, and the rest cascading in neat curls down her back.

He noticed that as he had omitted his robes, the symbol of his status, she had omitted to put on a tiara. It seemed they were going to her parents as simply Cedric and Sofia.

He liked the sound of their names together like that. When you said it a few times it began to sound as if it was a single unit, a compound word.

She came bounding towards him just as she'd done in his room, and took his hand, bobbing up to give him a quick kiss. Before they left her room, he decided to leave a little of himself in her space too. He put the wand down on her dresser as they passed and, looking at it there, he knew it belonged.

The family room was on the other side of the 'Royal residence' from Sofia's bedroom. A long hallway filled with servants bustling about, stood between them and their destination.

Holding her head high, Sofia squeezed Cedric's hand and they started their journey, side by side, hand in hand just as they had last night, without concern for who should see them.

They were ten feet from the family room when its door swung open and Baileywick walked into the hall.

He turned to them and froze in his tracks.

"Good morning Baileywick," Sofia said brightly, no hint in her voice or demeanor that anything was different from any other morning. "Thank you for all your help yesterday. I know it must have been total chaos behind the scenes, but the night went off perfectly and I know you had everything to do with it. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to thank you earlier."

Baileywick's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, but still nothing came out. It seemed all the steward could do was look between Cedric and Sofia's faces and their clasped hands and gape while air, but no sound, escaped his open mouth.

Walking past him, they finally entered the family room. Cedric noticed that everyone was exactly where Sofia said they would be.

King Rolland sat in an armchair reading the 'Enchancia Times'. Queen Miranda and Princess Amber sat on either side of a large couch so they could share a collection of the latest fashion and decorating magazines between them, and Prince James stood by the window, sipping tea and talking to everyone and no one about the new flying horses the stable master and his grooms where exercising outside.

When the door closed, all eyes turned to them.

"Good morning Sofia." The King greeted, only half lowering his paper. "You look just lovely today? I take it your early morning ride on Minimus was just the tonic you needed after all the stress of yesterday?" Rolland continued seeming not to see their joined hands.

But then, even now, when Cedric had proved himself over and over again, the King rarely noticed him unless he was forced to.

"Early morning ride?" Sofia repeated, seeming a little thrown by the odd statement.

"Yes, your mother said she came to visit you early this morning and found you up before the sun, putting on your riding clothes. I can see it did the trick, you look much happier today. Why you're positively glowing."

Cedric looked over at Queen Miranda and found her staring directly at their clasped hands with a small, almost wistful smile on her face. He found himself wondering how it was the Queen had come to provide the perfect alibi for Sofia so they could spend the morning together undisturbed.

"I am happy today Dad, really happy, but not because I went riding. I'm happy because Cedric asked me to marry him this morning and I said yes." Sofia declared this as simply and matter-of-factly as she did everything else. As though there was no question or room for argument.

To emphasize her point she held up her left hand and showed them her ring.

Cedric had a moment of pride when he saw Amber gasp and the Queen smile widely. He might be the very last man they had in mind for Sofia, but the ring was magnificent, a piece worthy of an empress.

Before anyone else could speak, the Queen was up from her seat and crossing the room to them. Without any hesitation she hugged Cedric warmly and kissed his cheek.

"Welcome to the family Cedric. I'm so happy for both of you!" Her smile was so genuine, Cedric had the momentary desire to pinch himself.

Things simply could not be this easy. Could they?

He had to be dreaming. He was almost certain this whole thing was a wild delusion and he was about to wake up hunched over his worktable, his face smooshed into a spell book, and a blinding tension headache raging from his eyes to the base of his neck.

The Queen had moved from him now and was hugging Sofia fiercely.

"My little girl, where does the time go? I'm so happy for your darling."

James was the next to approach them. He clapped Cedric on the back amiably.

"Congrats Cedric! There's no one more awesome than Sofia. I know you guys are going to be really happy together."

Yes, this was all a dream. Of course it was. How on Earth could Sofia possibly want him, agree to be his wife, and then everyone else just accept it like it was no big deal. Maybe he should punch himself in the face instead. A pinch might be to gentle to break free of this hallucination.

The room fell silent with that. All eyes seemed to gravitate to the pretty blond Princess still holding a magazine, but watching everything with a keen eye and a neutral expression.

When Amber realized she'd become the center of attention she finally broke her silence.

"Well why are you all looking at me like that?" She countered, no hint of what she might be thinking about all of this.

"Well…," Sofia spoke slowly," I knew Mom would probably be on our side. And James, I knew if it made me happy you'd be happy for me. But honestly Amber, I guess… I was a little worried you might not be so thrilled for me." Sofia looked at her with an expression Cedric had seen many times on his own sister's face; the need to have the approval of a beloved older sibling.

Amber huffed at that as though she were offended.

"Really Sofia, sometimes I don't understand what goes on in that head of yours."

Dear god, maybe he _was_ awake. Amber seemed more than ready to give them the reaction he'd been expecting all along.

Which was why her next words floored the whole room.

"You've been a Princess long enough you should know the rules by now. And the first rule of being a Princess is that Princesses live happily ever after. You can't possibly live happily ever after if you don't marry your true love!

I've never known you to be fickle a single moment in your life. So if you tell me Cedric is your true love how can I do anything but believe you? Of course the two of you have to marry!

Besides it's not like _every_ Princess has to marry a Prince.

Prince Aladdin was a thief before he married Princess Jasmine. So was Prince Eugene before he married Princess Repunzel. And Prince Kristoph was an… an _ice merchant_ before he married Princess Anna."

Amber put special emphasis on the 'ice merchant' part, her hands coming to her neck as if the very thought of such degradation made her want to clutch at an imaginary set of pearls.

"At least when _I'm_ asked about it, I can hold my head up and say _my_ brother is a great and powerful Sorcerer. I double dare Queen Else to look down her frosted pink nose at that!"

With that Amber swept out of her seat and walked regally over to where the rest of the family, save the King, had assembled around them.

Without a moment's hesitation she went on her tip toes and kissed Cedric's cheek.

"Welcome to the family, Cedric." She said, an actual, genuine smile on her face.

Cedric was so shocked he barely heard the shrill squeal that escaped Amber's mouth as she threw herself on Sofia and the two women jumped up and down as they hugged.

"Oh Sofia just wait! If you thought last night was big, I can't wait to tell you all my ideas for your wedding." Amber's voice was still at peak squeal even as she released her sister to clasp hands and start spinning them around in circles.

"I'm sure my wedding will be ah-mazing Amber. You know why?" Sofia asked, tears of happiness swimming in her eyes.

"Why?" Amber replied as they came to a stop.

"Because I have a secret weapon… YOU!" The sisters laughed at what must be an inside joke and embraced again.

They were still laughing and hugging when King Rolland finally stood from his chair, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention. He remained where he was as everyone stopped and looked at him.

"I gather then that you were not in fact out for a ride this morning." He said, pinning Miranda with a hard look.

"No I wasn't." Sofia declared with that same matter-of-fact tone she'd used earlier.

"I see," was his only reply for a long moment. Rolland seemed as though he were trying to process what he'd just learned but his mind wasn't cooperating.

"And you're ready to be married. You're very sure about that?"

Sofia nodded.

"I am."

Cedric knew it was time to stop allowing the King to make him invisible.

"I love her, your Majesty, with all of my heart."

Cedric realized this was probably the first time he'd ever spoken to the king without that demeaning, obsequious tone creeping into his voice. He was struck to realize it was because he no longer cared what the King thought of him, or if his actions pleased the other man.

He loved Sofia. She loved him. He had asked, and she had consented to be his wife. The king could suck on his scepter if he didn't like it!

"Your feelings for each other were never much of a mystery to me Cedric. I just want to make sure Sofia is ready for something so…life changing." The King paused at that, and it was clear he was fighting a great deal of emotion.

His eyes darted back to Miranda for a moment, and from the tenderness of Rolland's gaze it was obvious the Queen was already forgiven.

"Sofia, I know that in the most technical sense of the word I'm not your father. But I have never, for a single moment of the last ten years, considered you anything but my daughter, and honestly I didn't wake up this morning with the slightest notion I'd have to figure out how to let you go quite so soon.

You and Amber both, you're my little girls. Sometimes I just wish I could make you both small again so all I'd have to worry about is keeping Amber in new dresses and you out of mischief. But you're not little anymore and I…," Rolland stopped again, visibly trying to contain himself. "And I guess keeping you safe is Cedric's job now."

The king walked over to Cedric then, holding out his hand.

Cedric didn't hesitate to take it and found himself pulled into a manly hug. As the King stepped back, he clapped Cedric on the shoulder, and then pinned him with a hard gaze.

"And I do mean safe Cedric. As in not a hair on her head, do we understand each other?"

Cedric gulped a little but was determined not to appear a sniveling fool.

"We do." He tried on Sofia's matter-of-fact tone of voice and found it a good fit for the occasion.

Rolland smiled, satisfied with Cedric's answer.

"Then I guess the only thing left to do is welcome you to the family. Please don't think I meant any offense by being the last to do it. A father… a father just needs a few minutes to realign his world view. You'll understand that one day I trust."

And just like that Cedric the bumbler, Cedric the So-So, became a Prince.

Cedric looked down at Sofia, who had wound her arms around his and was clinging to his side as the whole family talked excitedly about when and where and how they were going to throw the biggest shindig ever to hit the kingdom, and his eyes settled on her amulet. She taken it off for last night's festivities, as she sometimes did now, but had put it back on while in her room.

If he'd been alone he would have had himself a long, crazy, ridiculous, ironic laugh.

All the years he'd wasted trying to steal that miserable necklace. All the frustration and anger and hopelessness he'd felt after each failed attempt. The whispers that seemed to suck him deeper and deeper into darkness by calling him idiot, bumbler, fool as though the amulet knew what he was trying to do and was cursing him from afar.

What a waste.

What a God damned waste.

All it had taken to have the life he dreamed of: people who respected him, confidence to be the best Sorcerer and person he could be, and a love so true he'd felt almost overwhelmed by it more than once in the last twelve hours; was to open himself to one pesty, exuberant, annoying, endearing little ray of sunshine.

It was all so clear to him now. The amulet had never been the path to happiness.

But it had been the path to Sofia.

One day he'd find the courage to confess his sins to her and ask for real forgiveness. When he did, it would be with the knowledge that there was no longer anything about him that resembled the angry, scared, twisted young man he'd been.

And when he finally told her, it would be the last step of his transformation into the man she deserved.


End file.
